Subscription

Blogdash

Prior to applying for Saudi citizenship, a foreign woman married to a Saudi must have a marriage which is legally recognized by the Saudi government. While Saudis are not forcibly permitted from marrying who they want, they can not bring a foreign wife into the Kingdom unless the marriage has been approved and she is legally recognized by the Saudi government as his wife.

Foreign women who are married to a Saudi can receive Saudi nationality. In some cases they must give up their home country nationality and in some other cases, they can maintain dual citizenship. Since this is not an across the board decision among all countries, a foreign woman should check with her home country embassy to find out if her country will still recognize her citizenship if she takes on Saudi citizenship.

However, getting Saudi citizenship is not an easy or small process. The Ministry of Interior established a process towards determining whether an individual qualified for citizenship back in 1954.

The key issues and requirements at that time were as follows:

Twenty First Article Granting the Saudi Citizenship to the foreign wife of a Saudi Citizen takes place by the Decision of the Minister:of Interior according to Article (16) of the system if she applied and if the following conditions are applicable:

1 Carrying out the legal marriage relationship.

2 If the wife renounced her original nationality to a judge or a notary.

3 If the marriage is according to the statutory regulations of marriage between a Saudi Citizen and a foreigner.

4 The wife must submit a report that she was never sentenced to a criminal or ethical judgment.

5 There must be no comments by the concerned authorities regarding the wife.

6 The wife must be a resident inside the Kingdom.

7 The marriage duration must be 5 years as minimum. However, applicants who do not conform to this condition may be considered if some or all of the following conditions are applicable

The rest of it shows ways a foreign wife can become a citizen without being married 5 years and it’s all about if she has been born in the Kingdom, or her mother or father was born in the Kingdom. There is no mention of work or college.

That was then. It is nowhere as straightforward or simplified now. Instead it is based on a point system and the foreign wife requires a minimum number of 17 points before she will be considered a candidate for citizenship. As evidenced by the requirements to obtain points, the system favors the non-Western foreign wife. Points are accumulated as follows:

2 points for each child not to exceed four points.

1 point for each year she has lived in the Kingdom (following the official marriage approval) not to exceed 12 points.

2 points if she holds a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

2 points if one or more of her relatives already has Saudi nationality.

2 points if the wife was born in the Kingdom.

2 points if she was a resident in the Kingdom prior to her marriage.

The application for citizenship is rejected if the woman has not had any children with her Saudi husband.

Following is the official document from the Ministry of Interior (in Arabic) with the current requirements to apply for Saudi citizenship:

22 Responses

Are you saying the point system refers to the many immigrants that are in the country? I know for an expat married to a Saudi takes a few months, and the point system does not pertain to her. In my circle of friends, all of them have dual citizenship. One of my friends is from Venezuela, two from Mexico, another from spain and one from the U.S. Before receiving the Saudi citizenship, one must go to their Embassy and tell them they are turning in their passport in order to receive Saudi citizenship. Upon receiving your Saudi passport, you can go back to your embassy and request a new passport. Takes about two to three weeks max.

These new regulations pertain to the foreign women who have married Saudis, not to immigrants. Additionally, not all countries accept the dual citizenship so a foreign woman should check with her respective embassy first. Some embassies may have also changed their rules on dual citizenships too.

Norma, where are you getting your information? It is NOT a quick and easy deal to get Saudi citizenship, even if you’re married to a Saudi. As a matter of fact, this is the whole point of American Bedu’s post. You’re right, though, on the second part of your post where foreigners must surrender their original’s country’s passport before getting Saudi nationality. I’m sure that if you ask each of your friends who have gotten Saudi citizenship that they have fulfilled the requirements AB has outlined before nationality was granted. (Maybe I misread your post and you were saying that once the necessary points were accumulated and the process started, then it takes months. If that is the case, then you are probably right, though I’d say it takes many months rather than just a few.)

Most ex-pat women married to Saudis who are not born in the Kingdom or have no close Saudi relatives, have a much stricter list of requirements. A non-Saudi woman who is born in Saudi or has Saudi relatives only needs to acquire 7 points compared to the 17 for the ex-pat born outside the country with no Saudi relatives. In addition the Saudi-born non-Saudi woman only needs to complete high school to qualify and does not have to have children. The outside of Saudi born applicant must have at least one child (but will need two to have enough points) and must have a 4 year college degree. That is a 10 point difference.

My question is very important for me,is that,that i was born in saudi arabia and i know arabic language and im 17 but the government of Saudi did,nt gave me id,passport or any thing that shows that im the citizen of Saudi.please help me in this issue what i have to do get my passport now im using my Pakistani id.

Ohhh sorry guys
I did born in saudi and i have no a nationality or citizenship
I am 24 years old.
And they will not gave anybody becuse they are not a human.
You can see me i am 24 yeas without passport

There is no chance of getting Saudi Nationality even if you have been born in KSA and live 100 years more on this land, unless you have good relations with Prince or Royal family (Ya3ni yabela waasta jamid)

Why anyone in the world would like to have Saudi Citizenship.. Even if you become a citizen — you still will be 2nd class even 3rd class citizen. Everything in Saudi Arabia goes by which clan / tribe you belong to– preference goes by the last name and than who you know among the elites ie. not so royals. I won’t even take it even if they knock on my door.

Hi I’m Indian women and I have married to Saudi men I passed 7 years in Saudi Arabia after my official approval marriage and have 2 babies but still no nationality and want to know how much I collect my points and how to apply for the nationality if some one help me it’s better. Thank you all

@nadia, according to the point system, 2pts for being married to Saudi man, 2pts each for child, u have 2 children that is 4 pts, and 1 point for each year spent in KSA, that is 7 pts in your case. Add all points that comes to 13 points which is less than required 17 points for citizenship eligibility. You’re not eligible at this time. If you stay married for another 4 years, maybe you’ll qualify. Good Luck!!

I have a quick question, although I am not married to a saudi but I was born and raised up in saudi for the past 20-ish years. I haven’t left the country for the past 5 years. In addition to that I study and work in saudi. Doesn’t that give me the chance to get the nationality?
Thanks..

Thank you Ali. For ur comment but I want to work here, when I’m applying for vacancies they want me too have citizenship and when I apply for Indian vacancies they want me to transfer my iqama as u know what I couldn’t,that’s why I want to have early citizenship.

i was born here in Saudi Arabia on 2001 and still living here, I am studying in Arabic school and never gone out of Saudi Arabia since birth. my parents are both Filipinos, can I apply for Saudi citizenship ?

i am almost 13 years work in saudi arabia nothing eny problem in saudi iam migrator belong to pakistan kashmir i love saudia like culture honestly peace i like so so mutch islamic culture eny thing really really good I want sty in KSA all of my life i am a honest mane i have tow sons fahad rashid and riyaan rashid thank you